The scene: sipping a margarita with my boss at happy hour last night. As these evenings wear on, the conversation normally drifts to the subject of work colleagues and their various short-comings. My boss complains about everyones limitations and jokes that if we could generate hybrids of people with their mutually exclusive strengths then we’d come up with the perfect employee.
Now it doesn’t take a genius to realise that if I’m sitting there listening to the shortcomings of the guy who sits next to me at work, then when the guy who sits next to me at work is sitting having drinks with the boss, he’s probably hearing all about mine. I guess that’s just life, but it also seems like a waste of potentially useful information. What good is it if all of my shortcomings stay hidden, known to everyone except me? So, draining the last of the margarita for courage, I asked the awkward question. “What are my weaknesses?”.
I’ve never seen the color drain out of anyone’s face quite that fast. What, actually have to tell me, TO MY FACE?? What kind of crazy system is that? I had to go to the restroom to give him time to calm down and ponder his response. When I returned, he took the diplomatic approach and listed all my strengths first. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just get to the point. I can take it. In various situations, he said, (naming them all), I have lacked leadership skills. Hmmm. Well, that’s OK, I thought, because I didn’t think I was supposed to be a leader anyway-pah! So, you can’t fail at something you weren’t even trying to do. The ultimate get-out clause!
But in the cold light of day, and with a little more coffee and a little less tequila, I’m wondering about the whole issue of leadership. We seem to categorise some people as “leaders”, even “born leaders” based largely on their personality but also on communication skills and confidence. I’m pretty sure I’m not in that category, but I’ve been doing my job for long enough now that it’s probably reasonable to expect me to be a leader in some capacity-at least guiding the more junior members of the office as they navigate their way through tasks I can do with my eyes shut. As Christians I think we can be confined by the same definitions. There are “born leaders” in the church: pastors and elders and youth leaders etc who make communicating the gospel look easy. But even if we aren’t in that category, we are bearers of The Good News to a lost world. That to me seems like a serious call to leadership. The Great Commission is a call to leadership. We know this is different (even opposite?) to the leadership we might be called to at work because our Lord led the way in demonstrating leadership by serving others, rather than sitting back and giving instructions. But, it’s leadership all the same. As God’s chosen people, maybe we’re all born leaders?
And with that question, I’m leaving for vacation. Feel free to comment without me, and I’ll enjoy catching up when I get back!
Philomena
allthesephilomena@yahoo.com
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